Shot-by-Shot Breakdown of Cameras Used in ‘Need for Speed’ Trailer

Shane Hurlbut is the cinematographer for the new Need for Speed movie. A couple weeks ago, he had a contest to see who could spot the GoPro footage in the trailer. The contest is over now, but Shane put together an annotated trailer that labels all the cameras and lenses used in the trailer for each and every shot (…and there are a lot of cuts in there).

Along with the C500 and Alexa Plus, there are a few shots using the Canon 1D C in obvious tight quarters or crash cam situations. Notably, all the cameras are capable of 4K image capture (and were shooting 4K) even though the film was finished in 2K. However, the 4K frame gives plenty of room for reframes and stabilization, which makes sense when you’re shooting car sequences at 120mph.

Shane used a total of 50 different cameras on Need for Speed, with some shots using upwards of 30 cameras simultaneously. That has to make for a love-hate relationship with the editors. While there are plenty of angles to choose from, there are so many shots to cull…

The GoPro footage isn’t necessarily surprising after you see them labeled. It is interesting though to see the theme of using the Alexa Plus for day/highlight shots and Canon C500 for night/shadow shots. He clearly has a preference for the cameras based on the lighting situation at hand. He has been raving about the Canon EOS Cinema series and their low-light capabilities since the cameras were released, and now he’s put his money where his mouth is in a Hollywood blockbuster film.

Shane is always good for some detailed BTS stuff from the cinematography department. So, I suspect we’ll see plenty more action from the Need for Speed set as the release approaches.